The Goodbye Sphere
by supersecretbeaver
Summary: Valhalla, her brother and a few friends have left home on a quest to find answers to two questions, "What has happened to Rikku?", and "Is the need for a Summoner returning?"


Disclaimer-- I do not own the Final Fantasy characters, nor the idea for the name of the character Yunalesca. But the rest of the characters are of my own creation.  
  
Prologue  
  
A petite hand slid the cover of a wood covered journal open. Slowly a pen met the paper, scratching the paper as the hand's owner speaks the words as they are written. "December twenty four. It's late, nearly two thirty... or would that be early... either way I'm dead tired, and can't sleep." The voice was female, strong, and confident and yet rang with a sense of calmness locked into her femininity. The writing hand's mate reached up to flow through her long blond hair.  
  
She sighed, "Anyway, the family has changed a bit since the last time I wrote. Dad is no longer so concerned with the whole keeping the peace ordeal. He's a lot more level, and ten times as calm since he hired Gippal." Her hand slid a picture into a delicate clear envelope. The picture held Baralai, now a bit older and dressed a little more casual. Gippal stood behind him, poking fun at the small lipstick stain on his collar. "That was just last week, Gippal still can't believe that Dad's been married for nineteen years, and is still happy. Mom forgot to wash Dad's shirt before he went to the office. Mom's been doing really well lately, her traveling has cut back a lot so she's home a lot more than she used to be. In fact she just flew in from Besaid this morning."  
  
She slid another picture into the envelope. This time a fair- featured woman with long curly white hair fell into the envelopes clear frame. Paine, she had let her hair grow out in the past twenty years. "Mom travels with Yuna all around Spira, speaking to groups about the fate that the prevented, and telling them that they can do the same... blah blah blah... a bunch of nonsense really. There hasn't been a reason for anyone to fight in the past few years. Spira's gotten fat, well with some exceptions."  
  
Her fingers pushed another picture into the clear envelope. The picture held two boys, the taller and obviously older supports a muscular frame, a height of near 6 foot, white hair, and eyes as dark as midnight. The smaller was clearly a goof by nature, but still held a stature of strength. His hair was blond, and spiked high, with eyes of the greenest seas. "Kumara is about twenty now, and is taking his training more serious than I believe he should. He says there is something coming that he has to be ready for. Indra on the other hand is the perfect picture of a thirteen- year-old. He plays blitzball in the schoolyard, and practices his moves into all hours of the night."  
  
She slid another and the last of the pictures into the clear envelope. "And then there's me." The picture showed herself, thin yet muscular; hair long blond and curly, with eyes as red as blood. "I'm eighteen, and have just finished my advanced schooling at Luca Institute for the Gifted. It's supposed to be the safest place in all of Spira, and that's the reason I went there. You see when I was born, I was born different than most human babies. I have this strange birthmark on my left shoulder, which resembles what most call the head of the Phoenix. It's the symbol of the Summoner. My Grandfather Auron told my mom to make sure I was safe at all times until someone found out why the mark had appeared. Sin's gone, and has been for twenty some odd years, but why was I born with the mark? A Summoner is no longer needed, and why me and not Yunalesca? I guess I'm lost without any answers, and it seems there isn't anyone who will help me. I'm leaving tomorrow, to embark on my own journey for answers, just like my mom did. And yet, my personal answers are not the only reason I am leaving. It all started last week when Kumara came to bring me home from my last day of schooling. We were walking to Chemos, our aircraft carrier, when my sphere locater went off. That's when we found the sphere...."  
  
"Yunie, Paine, Drec ec y kuutpoa. E ghuq drec syo hud naylr oui...." Rikku stood in front of a tall boat in the harbor, she looking very panicked, her voice reflecting her appearance, "pid E haat du mad oui ghug drad E ys ymnekrg. E gumd oui hud du vummuf sa, yht E cdemm tuh'd. E's kuesk huq, kuutpoa. Rikku..." The screen fuzzed out to black.  
  
"This is our story, we're going to find out what happened to Rikku, and discover why I was born with the mark of the Summoner. No matter what lies ahead, I can handle it. I can only hope the others will help..."  
  
Signed,  
Valhalla 


End file.
